ABSTRACT
As from 1 October 1993 all new graduates will be required to undergo a period as a vocational trainee in a training practice. The vocational trainee is a fully qualified dental surgeon working under the guidance of a more experienced and professionally mature colleague. Vocational trainees have assistant status. Usually, the locum will be paid on the day-book basis, which means that they are paid for the work actually carried out during the period, and so do not have to wait for the Dental Practice Board to process claim forms. The 'associate' is a dentist, usually between the vocational trainee stage and setting up in practice on their own account as a principal; in law, associates are self-employed independent contractors. The average earnings of a dental practitioner were determined by the amount paid by reference to their Family Flealth Services Authority number; there was no way of distinguishing between the sole practitioner or the General Dental Practitioner employing several assistants.
